A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[heritagebirds]

The hive is heavy and we're starting to hunker down for winter.

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

AAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!


I hate hive beetles.......

Tried to check honey stores and found stupid beetles on lid. &$(#*&$(@*&!!!!!!

Not as bad as when I had bees in the deep south, but I didn't think they were supposed to be like this here. At least I didn't find 'maggots' in the honey (yet) as I did down there. Can't describe my contempt for the buggers. I would rather put up with mites, CCD, ANYTHING else but those stupid things.

Having to feed my bees to get the stores up to snuff. *SIGH*

 

[heritagebirds]

I've been told that cd cases with some peanut butter in them laid on the top of the frames will attract them. Throw the case into a bucket of water, repeat...not that that helps much now. Good luck.

 

[Sumatra503]

I'm thinking of getting into bees, cause I love the honey. Only problem is that i'm terrified of bees. I freeze up when ever they fly towrd me.

My question is. Are Honey bees pretty gentle or will they attack me when I collect the honey?

Also, do they eventually get used to you collecting the honey, or do they take it personally every time?

If i plant a garden full of nectary flowers will this help them or do they need to be fed a nectar solution?

Sorry, but I don't really want to read through all those pages to find the answers.

 

[sgtmom52]

Quote:

 

[Sumatra503]

I think I may have to just chicken out and wear a suit and some thick gloves.

 

[fl_deb]

Great thread you all!

 

[JP33]

Quote:
Join a bee club and get your feet wet around other beeks.

The smoker is the bee keeper's best friend and most important tool. Once you learn how to use it, you'll see its a very handy/important tool that will allow you to work your bees enjoyably with minimal or no stings.

Most people who take up bee keeping get past the stinging issue rather quickly as you will come to find its not that big of an issue if you keep bees that are of a basic gentle nature.

As a beginner you will want to acquire the most gentle bees you can find.

There's a continual learning curve no doubt but once you "catch the bee keeping bug" you will just fall in love with them and your last concern will be getting stung.

When you do get stung just remember to get the stinger out as quickly as possible. This will greatly minimize the amount of venom that you would have received if you had left the stinger in longer.

Believe it or not there are many, many, countless numbers of people who actually welcome a certain amount of targeted stings for anti inflammatory reasons, mostly for arthritic reasons.

Research Bee Sting Therapy or Apitherapy if you're curious about this.

Bee venom has anti inflammatory characteristics similar to cortisone albeit not as long lasting.

I promise you that once you get started, stings will be the last of your concerns, that is of course unless you are highly allergic to honey bee stings, but most people are not and those that do have bad reactions often become less sensitized to stings and reactions are greatly minimized.

I'm a seasoned bee keeper and I also perform live removals from structures of all types and recommend bee keeping to just about anyone.

Have fun on your journey!


...JP

 

[sgtmom52]

Another side benefit of keeping bees is you start to accumulate a lot of beewax that you can melt down and make things. I am making these beeswax ornaments for Christmas this year. They smell so good! The angels are 6" long and the others are about 3".

 

[Sumatra503]

Thanks for the help you guys.

Doesn't the smoker knock them out. It sounds kinda mean to me.

I do think that bees are cute and fuzzy. My fear comes from getting attacked by yellow jackets when I was five. Little honey bees are kinda cool and cute, but hearing the buzzing gets me going and the way they circle around you to chase you off. They don't have to sting me and I'm gone. I am getting better about it, though. Yesterday i actually let a little honey bee land on me. He buzzed around a bit and left me alone.

How many bees would you consider to be a small hive? I don't have a lot of space for be keeping.

How far away should i have the bees from the food? I have the perfect spot for a hive that is out of the way.

I'm really interested in it. even if i end up being too chicken to collect the honey I can at least have them pollinate my fruit trees. We have 4 apple trees, 3 plum trees, a pair tree, and 2 cherry trees. I'm sure my bees would be busy ones.

There haven't been many wild bees and our fruit harvests have suffered because of that.

Also, where can I get first stock from? Are there any good suppliers of gentle bees? I start with a queen and a couple of others right?